Mr Monk Always Knows
by AmbrielleReynolds
Summary: When Natalie appears upset Monk uses his detective skills to find out what is wrong. One-shot unless otherwise requested.


Disclaimer: I don't own Monk and just came up with this at school so tell me what you think about it.

About my other story I do plan on continuing it I just have writers block and I have been really busy. Like I said this one just hit me so don't give up on me I will update as soon as I can come up with something worth writing down. Thanks!!!!

Mr. Monk always knows

Monk was vacuuming his rug for the second time that morning when he heard the front door open and then shut. He shut off the vacuum and listened for the clicking of Natalie's heels across his foyer. She called out his name to let him know she had arrived in case he didn't already know and he responded by yelling out that he was in the den. Seconds later, he was her slim figure turn the corner and enter the room. Looking up at her face, he expected to see her friendly smile staring back at him.

Right away he knew something was wrong. There was a smile plastered on her face but it was forced and he could see the sadness in her eyes. Despite her attempts to hide her mood, Monk's keen eye noticed her slightly red and puffy nose and eyes as well as the tear stains that ran down her cheeks. She had obviously been crying. Monk racked his brain thinking of what could be causing her secret pain, but could come up with nothing. There wasn't any anniversary for Mitch and Natalie and he knew that Natalie wasn't in a relationship at the moment so that couldn't be it. He had no idea so he decided to ask but when he did she played dumb as if nothing was wrong.

"Natalie…," he reasoned, "I see you have been crying so it's obviously not nothing". This did not convince her and she remained silently while the fake smile faded. He decided not to push the matter but wanted to know that if and when she was ready she could talk to him about her pain. He would certainly have an understanding, so he stepped out of his comfort zone, walked around the vacuum and up to Natalie before loosely wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into an embrace. She almost broke down but retained composure only chocking out a simple "Thank You Mr. Monk" before he dropped his arms and stepped back. She had always been there for him when he needed comfort and he felt as though it was only human to return the favor even if it was uncomfortable for him. He owed her this much. Her phone rang and she quickly flipped it open and answered. It was the captain about a case asking them to meet him there in about thirty minutes.

She hung up and turned to Monk telling him they had to go because she had a quick errand to run before heading to the crime scene. He didn't argue and walked with her out to her car. Both opened their doors and slid inside before pulling out into the street. The first minute or two was silent but then Monk asked about the case and Natalie began explaining what the captain had told her. It hurt Monk that he could still hear the hurt in her voice and she wouldn't tell him what was wrong. After some small talk, she pulled the car into the parking lot of the bank and put it in park. She asked whether he wanted to go in or wait in the car as it was only going to be a moment. He decided to wait in the car as he felt it would give him a chance to look around for clues as to Natalie's problem. She sighed and closed the door behind her before heading into the bank. As soon as she was out of sight he started looking around for anything different about the car. There were some papers in the back but he decided that they probably weren't important because they looked as though they hadn't been touched in days. Also, there was a case file from a recently solved case in the console. He opened the little dashboard compartment in front of him but it didn't contain any revealing information either. Only some bills, napkins, the manual to the car and some insurance cards. He closed it back and flipped down the sun shield on his side and then on the driver's side.

As soon as he did he saw what he had been looking for. Along with the picture of Julie and Mitch was a new picture he had never seen before. It was not a picture exactly, but it did contain two small photos. Each was black and white and contained two girls. The eldest he could clearly tell was Julie. She looked about five or six years old but that was not what interested him. A young Julie was holding a baby girl in her arms and smiling widely as if she was on top of the world. It was a birth announcement for the infant and the inscription confirmed that it was in fact Julie's little sister born just eight months before Mitch died. He looked at the date and realized that the date of birth was today. Now he knew why Natalie was so upset. What he didn't know was why she had never mentioned the baby, who was supposedly named Jordan, or what had happened to the little girl. He just stared at the envelope sized paper until he was brought out of his trance by the car door opening.

Natalie just froze when she realized what he was holding. He saw the tears slowly creep down her cheek. "I…I am soo sorry Natalie," he mustered but couldn't help but add his question, "What happened?" She knew the question was innocent and was almost glad to have someone to share her pain so she got in the car before beginning her explanation. She told him that Jordan was born only a few months before Mitch was to return to service and they had been so happy about adding another child to their family. Unfortunately, at just three months old Jordan was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. They opted for operating to fix the problem because there was no way she would survive otherwise, but she died on the operating table from bleeding and complications. It had devastated Natalie and Mitch was already back fighting so he wasn't even able to be there for the funeral. It was a really hard time for her and Julie and it had been made even tougher when Mitch had died just five months later. She explained that it depressed her to think about it and Monk said he understood. He just sat there as they drove with Natalie crying full force by now. Monk just looked at the card in his hands before whispering a lone I'm sorry as they pulled up to the crime scene. He handed the little purple card back to Natalie and opened his door before stepping out leaving Natalie staring down at the daughter she had lost forever and the one she still had.

A/N: I actually have a sample of the birth announcement and wish I could show people the vision, but the pictures I used don't belong to me so you guys will just have to picture it in you head unless you have an idea. It is really perfect. The girl even kind of looks like Julie.


End file.
